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How high can I price my drug?
Mike Wokasch PharmaceuticalHigh drug prices — especially for life-saving or life-enhancing specialty drugs — continue to attract media attention in the U.S. prescription drug market. News outlets often highlight patients lacking adequate prescription drug coverage who have been financially crippled by the cost of their prescriptions. In an attempt to justify these high prices, PhRMA continues its mantra of "high cost and high risk of research" rationale.
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New test reduces trial-and-error process for mental health drugs
Rachael Mattice Mental HealthcarePicking up a prescription from the pharmacy always includes general warnings. When it comes to more complex medications that are used to treat mental health disorders — such as antidepressants or antipsychotics — a patient can expect a printout of warning labels with possible adverse effects that are dangerous and symptomatically worse than the condition being initially treated.
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Do pharmacist-patient interactions matter?
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalInteractions matter. In the pharmacy world, that phrase typically refers to drug-drug interactions, which pharmacists are constantly watching for as patients bring new prescriptions through our doors. But I'm talking about a different kind of interaction — specifically the interaction between patients and the pharmacy personnel with whom they speak. These interactions appear to be important, too.
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Discovery has researchers ‘1 step away’ from Type 1 diabetes…
Lauren Swan Medical & Allied HealthcareSome are calling it the greatest discovery since insulin. Other believe it's on par with the discovery of antibiotics, but regardless, it is one of the most incredible medical discoveries in our history. After 23 years of research, Harvard professor Doug Melton says scientists are "now just one step away from the finish line" — a cure for Type 1 diabetes.
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5 reasons mediocre drugs still get used
Mike Wokasch PharmaceuticalEver wonder how some drugs get on the market and get prescribed extensively only to find out they are either ineffective or potentially harmful? Despite the dearth of comparative effectiveness studies, the available published literature would suggest that all drugs to treat a particular indication are not created equal. From apparent, if not proven, efficacy differences to disparate adverse reactions and dosing regimens, patients may not be getting the best product available for their particular situation.
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What’s the difference between a short-order cook and a pharmacist?
Greg L. Alston PharmaceuticalOK, that may seem like a weird comparison, but let me explain why I think it is important. I'll use the community pharmacist as the example because most people in our profession would agree that community practice probably has the highest burnout rate for pharmacists.
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Will your pharmacy start taking back unused drugs?
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalSometimes our solutions are more complex than the problems they are trying to solve. That fact came to mind as I reviewed the new DEA regulations surrounding the retail pharmacy disposal of patient-returned prescription controlled substances.
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The surge in US healthcare jobs: Looking ahead to 2022
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareThe jobs with the largest expected growth are often those that benefit from America's changing demographics. It is not surprising, then, that the average of all health-support occupations is expected to grow 28 percent by 2022.
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The quest for new antibiotics turns back to nature, genetics
Rosemary Sparacio PharmaceuticalWith antibiotic resistance becoming an increasing problem in medical treatment, the search is on for new antibiotics, new sources for those antibiotics and new mechanisms. For thousands of years people have used products found in nature for their medicinal properties. A return to nature may be the next area in which we find antibiotics.
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West Africa’s future darkening as Ebola cases skyrocket
Lauren Swan Medical & Allied HealthcareThe Discovery Channel aired the first Ebola documentary on the current outbreak in West Africa at 10 p.m. ET on Sept. 18. The documentary, called "Ebola: Inside the Deadly Outbreak," was an hour-long special showing unseen footage and following healthcare workers around Ebola centers as well as villages in which the disease was present.
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